Jeremiah 23:6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteousness.

This has always been a dearly loved verse, and Yahweh Tsidkenu, the name given here, is one of the few Hebrew expressions I have learned. However, it is significant that this comes immediately after several verses excoriating the “shepherds” who have devastated the people of God. In the context of the day that probably refers to political leaders, but immediately after this there is a longer section about bad religious leaders, so nobody gets off Scot free. The reason the placement of this verse is so significant is that both political and religious leaders tend to go around defining who or what is righteous, when God is the judge of that. Actually, that’s a major reason God gave us the Bible, so that we would have written guidelines for defining righteousness, but we must never forget that God is both the Judge and the definition of righteousness. Those who are in Him are righteous, and those who are not, are not. That doesn’t mean there aren’t behaviors that are inherently unrighteous, because there certainly are, and we’ve all been guilty of them. However, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:30, Christ Jesus has become our righteousness, holiness and redemption. The whole issue of being “in Christ” is huge – my father wrote his doctoral dissertation on it. However, it is an enormously satisfying and rewarding study. To get back to this verse, when God is our righteousness, that deals with the striving and the inadequacy and all of that. Rather, we seek and receive His strength to live up to what He has already made us to be.

I don’t recall being taught this specifically as a child, but I’m sure it was in there somewhere. I do know that as an adult, and particularly as I came to know more about the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit, that it has been a glorious truth for me. I can’t say I live it out perfectly, but it has been a strength and comfort every time I have stumbled. It is the foundation behind Paul’s statement in Romans 8:1 that “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” As a pastor, it is a truth I strive to get through to those in my care. When we try to “be righteous” on our own, we fail miserably, but when we rest in the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, then we live as God’s children, with joy and peace, and people around us say, “How can you do that?” That’s the best sort of opening for personal evangelism.

Father, thank You for continuing to show Yourself faithful day by day and moment by moment. Thank You for yesterday and all it held: the places we could go, the people we could see. Thank You that we didn’t get lost a single time! Thank You for Your plans for today. Help us rest, relax, and rejoice in those plans, not trying to impose our own, so that we may be open channels of Your grace and love, enjoying them fully as they flow through us, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!